Help on 58-60 les Paul / Peter Green

[ndavis1971]

Ok I’m in virgin territory here. I want to get a Les Paul and use same type of pickups Peter Green used. I’ve been told to look at the 59 historic reissues and throbak peter green pickups. But I have no idea if you’d recommend this. I want as close to a true 59 as I can get without buying a real one. Want to keep total at 5k or below if I can. Also don’t want chambered or anything if that affects tone adversely. I have a heavy as hell gold top with mini humbuckers and the weight definitely helps the sound. Open to all suggestions on model and pickups.  All these reissues make my head spin. Thanks in advance !

[jdgm]

Suggest you find out about Corsa guitars; Larry Corsa became known for turning stock LPs into Peter Green ones, but I think he now sells guitars under his own name.

https://corsaguitars.com/product/corsa-lcpg-p100/

https://corsaguitars.com/product-category/manalishi-pickups/

Edited November 10, 2019 by jdgm

[Larsongs]

I had a 59 Gibson ES345 with PAF's a long time ago when I first started playing. I knew nothing about Guitars & bought it 2nd hand from someone who also knew nothing about Guitars for $100.00.

Not knowing what I had I traded it for a bunch of Gear at GC.

I've spent years buying Guitars chasing that sound.. Nothing does...  Some of those original old PAF Humbucker Pickups were incredible. I happened to have one of those Guitars. Some say it was accidental as they were hand wound back then. 

Everyone including Gibson has tried to recreate them.. The really good PAF's.. Nobody has.. Why? Because no 2 were the same & their Sound is subjective.. From what I've heard Thro Bak bought the original Winder after Gibson moved from Kalamazoo. They claim they can recreate them...

Edited November 12, 2019 by Larsongs

[Twang Gang]

Chasing the "Peter Green" tone may be a long and difficult ordeal.  As mentioned the PAF pickups were hand wound and no two sets sounded the same.  As a much lower cost alternative try a Les Paul Classic with the zebra 61R and 61T humbuckers.  I bought one (under $2K retail) and was surprised and overjoyed with how "vintage" the pickups sound.

[pippy]

On 11/10/2019 at 12:19 AM, ndavis1971 said:

I want to get a Les Paul and use same type of pickups Peter Green used. I’ve been told to look at the 59 historic reissues and throbak peter green pickups. But I have no idea if you’d recommend this. I want as close to a true 59 as I can get without buying a real one...

 

You are barking up the wrong tree. Gary Moore played 'Greeny' for decades and never sounded like PG. An R9 and PG Throbaks (I've played just such an instrument) plugged into an Orange set up is as good a place to start as any, I suppose, but (to state the bleeding obvious) 95 % of PG's tone came from himself and, FWIW, about 90% of that was from his right hand picking technique.

Play about with guitars, pickups and amps to your heart's content. Practice more on technique. Best of luck in your quest.

P.

[Mutha]

Also Kirk Hammett has it now and he don`t sound like PG either.

[IanHenry]

11 hours ago, Mutha said:

Also Kirk Hammett has it now and he don`t sound like PG either.

That's something of an understatement!

Don't some of the current Gibson USA line have switching for the "out of phase" effect? 

[merciful-evans]

15 hours ago, Mutha said:

Also Kirk Hammett has it now and he don`t sound like PG either.

 

I bet if I had it, I'd sound every bit as unlike PG as he does.

[IanHenry]

I think the main key too a Peter Green like sound is low gain and a lot of reverb.

I once read an interview with a music shop owning friend of Gary Moore, in the run-up to Gary recording his "Blues for Greeny" album. Gary asked him what he thought about his Peter Green sound, and the bloke told him "you sound like Gary Moore trying to sound like Peter Green" even though Gary was using Peters guitar! kind of tells you all you need to know really doesn't it!